It’s Ready Sheddy Go online for Epworth charity thanks to KCOM

We love getting involved and making a difference in the local communities we serve.

At Epworth, in Isle of Axholme, we’ve connected The Shed on the Isle to our ultrafast full fibre network, enabling its members to explore a world of online opportunities and bridging the digital divide.

The North Lincolnshire charity, which is part of the national Men In Sheds movement, aims to combat isolation and loneliness in the predominately (but not exclusively) older male population of the Isle and its surrounding areas, improving mental and physical health.

Jon Clarke, Treasurer and secretary at Shed On The Isle, said he was delighted to be connected to KCOM’s broadband network. He said: “The broadband is fast, it’s quick. It’s going to change a lot of things here. KCOM has opened everything up – the world’s now at your fingertips.

“We were struggling before because we had a 4G Wi-Fi mobile thing and the signal was terrible. But now we’ve got superfast broadband it’s great. Now we’ve got the broadband we’ve been successful in funding for PCs, we’ve got tablets and an Alexa, so in the new year we’ll be tackling the digital divide.”

The broadband boost will help the Shed On The Isle do what it does best, says Jon – and that’s connecting people in the local community.

“The Shed On The Isle has had an amazing impact on people,” he says. “There’s an analogy that’s used for Sheds quite often. If you put 12 men in a room and ask them to talk to each other and to talk about their problems, six will leave and the other six will try to find a corner to stand in.

“But if put 12 men in a room with a broken lawnmower, within two hours they will know all about each other and each other’s problems, they’ll have made 12 new friends and you might actually get a lawnmower mended at the same time. That sums up what we do.”

Shed trustee David Morris said the new online connectivity was helping him to learn new skills.

“I’m learning new things, he said. “I can do stuff here instead of at home. I’m now learning to use Word, Excel, little things here and there that may not be a lot to some people but to me makes a difference.”

To find out more about The Shed On the Isle visit https://shedontheisle.co.uk

You can watch our video talking to the Shed on The Isle members here.